List of stapeliad names for use in Checklist(decisions are still needed in respect of correct nomenclature for some names previously published and for the synonyms to be included under each species, and for the literature to be cited for original descriptions)
Accepted taxa are shown in bold italics. Synonyms and rejected taxa are shown in normal italics.
The Asclepiadaceae volume “Illustrated Handbook of Succulent Plants” by Albers & Meve (2002) is here abbreviated to IHSP.
The two volume work by Bruyns (2005) “Stapeliads of Southern Africa and Madagascar” is here abbreviated to SSAM.
Meve & Liede 2002 DNA paper on Molecular Phylogeny and Generic Rearrangement of Stapelioid Ceropegieae in Plant Syst. Evol. is abbreviated here to M&L.
The type species for each genus is underlined.
Angolluma Munster (The species in this genus were placed in Orbea by Meve et al in IHSP, and Bruyns, in SSAM, also drops the use of Angolluma, but Orbea has basal flowers whereas Angolluma has apical flowers in addition to other differences)
Angolluma abayensis (M. G. Gilbert) Plowes
Angolluma araysiana (Lavranos & Bilaidi) Plowes
Angolluma baldratii (White & Sloane) Plowes
Angolluma chrysostephana (Deflers) Plowes
Angolluma circes (M. G. Gilbert) Plowes (placed under Orbea dummeri by Mevein IHSP)
Angolluma commutata (Berger) Plowes
Angolluma commutata subsp. sheilae Plowes (to become a separate species)
Angolluma cucullata Plowes
Angolluma decaisneana (Lem.) L. E. Newton
Angolluma deflersiana (Lavranos) Plowes
Angollumadenboefii (Lavranos) Plowes
Angollumadistincta (E. A. Bruce) Plowes
Angollumadummeri (N. E. Br.) Plowes
Angollumaeremastrum (Schwartz) Plowes
Angolluma fenestrata Plowes
Angolluma fenestrata var. flava Plowes
Angollumafoetida (M. G. Gilbert) Plowes
Angollumagemugofana (M. G. Gilbert) Plowes
Angollumagilbertii Plowes
Angollumahesperidum (Maire) Plowes
Angollumahuernioides (Bally) Plowes
Angollumakochii (Lavranos) Plowes
Angollumalaikipiensis (M. G. Gilbert) Plowes
Angollumalaticorona (M. G. Gilbert) Plowes
Angollumalenewtonii Lavranos
Angollumalugardii (N. E. Br.) Plowes (perhaps not a true Angolluma)
Angollumaluntii (N. E. Br.) Plowes
Angollumamiscella (N. E. Br.) Plowes (put into Orbea by Meve, but it has apical flowers so should not be in Orbea)
(Orbea nardii Raffaelli, Mosti & Tardelli to be transferred here as Angolluma nardii)
Angollumanubica Plowes
Angollumaogadensis (M. G. Gilbert) Plowes
Angollumarogersii (L. Bolus) Plowes (perhaps not a true Angolluma)
Angollumasacculata (N. E. Br.) Plowes
Angollumaschweinfurthii (Berger) Plowes (perhaps not a true Angolluma)
Angollumasemitubiflora L. E. Newton
(Orbea baldratii ssp. somalensisBruyns– to be transferred here as Angolluma somalensis)
Angollumasprengeri (N. E. Br.) Plowes (regularly confused with other undescribed taxa in Ethiopia and Eritrea)
Angollumasubterranea (E. A. Bruce & Bally) Plowes (several different new distinct species still need to be separated out and described)
Angollumasudanensis Plowes
Angollumatubiformis (E. A. Bruce & Bally) Plowes
Angollumaubomboensis (Verdoorn) Plowes (perhaps not a true Angolluma but most certainly not an Australluma where it was transferred by Bruyns)
Angollumavenenosa (Maire) Plowes
Angollumavibratilis (E. A. Bruce & Bally) Plowes
Angollumawilsonii (Bally) Plowes
Angollumawissmannii (Schwartz) Plowes
List of Orbea species that were moved from Angolluma byBruyns, and followed by Meve et al in IHSP, but I reject that change. Orbea has basal flowers, whereas Angollumaflowers are apical.
Orbea abayensis(M. G. Gilbert) Bruyns
Orbea araysiana(Lavranos) Bruyns
Orbea baldratii(White & Sloane) Bruyns
Orbea baldratiisubsp. somalensisBruyns – this has no semblance at all to baldratii - it is the same as plants that Lavranos found near Erigavo, Somalia, that belong in Angolluma near A. luntii and which I will transfer and elevate to species rank as A. somalensis
Orbea chrysostephana(Deflers) Bruyns
Orbea commutata(Berger) Bruyns
Orbea decaisneana(Lem.) Bruyns
Orbea deflersiana(Lavranos) Bruyns
Orbea denboefii(Lavranos) Bruyns
Orbea distincta(E. A. Bruce) Bruyns
Orbea dummeri(N. E. Br.) Bruyns
Orbea dummerisubsp.circes(M. G. Gilbert) Bruyns
Orbea gemugofana(M. G. Gilbert) Bruyns
Orbea huernioides(Bally) Bruyns
Orbea laikipiensis(M. G. Gilbert) Bruyns
Orbea laticorona(M. G. Gilbert) Bruyns
Orbea lugardii(N. E. Br.) Bruyns
Orbea luntii(N. E. Br.) Bruyns
[Orbea miscella(N. E. Br.) Meve] – Meve’s molecular DNA analysis puts this in Orbea but I have placed it in Angolluma because of having apical flowers; however, it is possibly not compatible with that genus either.
Orbea rogersii(L. Bolus) Bruyns
Orbea sacculata(N. E. Br.) Bruyns
Orbea schweinfurthii(Berger) Bruyns
Orbea semitubiflora(L. E. Newton) Bruyns
Orbea sprengeri(Schweinf.) Bruyns
Orbea sprengerisubsp.foetida(M. G. Gilbert) Bruyns
Orbea sprengerisubsp.ogadensis(M. G. Gilbert) Bruyns
Orbea subterranea(E. A. Bruce & Bally) Bruyns
Orbea tubiformis(E. A. Bruce & Bally) Bruyns
Orbea ubomboensis(Verdoorn) Bruyns
Orbea vibratilis(E. A. Bruce & Bally) Bruyns
Orbea wilsonii(Bally) Bruyns
Orbea wissmannii(Schwartz) Bruyns
Orbea wissmanniisubsp. parvilobaBruyns – now changed to Orbea nardii Raffaelli, Mosti & Tardelli, but this will require transferring to Angolluma as A. nardii.
Orbea wissmanniivar.eremastrum(Schwartz) Bruyns
Anomalluma Plowes (This genus was initially rejected by Bruyns & Meve, but the latter now accepts it)
Anomalluma dodsoniana (Lavranos) Plowes (was transferred to Pseudolithos by Bruyns & Meve, but latter has now reversed that decision)
Anomalluma mccoyi (Lavranos & Mies) Meve & Liede
Apteranthes Mikan (The species in this genus were retained under Caralluma by Meve et al in IHSP but they most definitely did not belong there, and Meve & S. Heneidak have now published an analysis of the Apteranthes europaea complex in Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 2005, 149, 419-433.
Apteranthesburchardiissp.burchardii (N. E. Br.) Plowes
Apteranthes burchardiissp.maura (Maire) Meve & F. Albers
Apterantheseuropaea (Guss.) Plowes var. europaea
Apterantheseuropaea var. judaica (Zohary) Plowes (species rank is however more appropriate for Israeli plants as shown by SEM scans of epidermis, in which case Apteranthes negevensis (Zohary) Plowes will have precedence in terms of ICBN rules (see Art. 11.2))
(As I indicated in my revision of Caralluma in Haseltonia 3 (1995) most of the following subspecies and varieties did not appear to merit retention. Meve & Heneidak have now sunk all of them with the exception of var. judaica)
Apterantheseuropaea subsp. gussoneana(Mikan) Plowes
Apteranthes europaeasubsp. gussoneanavar. tristis(Maire) Plowes
Apterantheseuropaeasubsp.maroccana (Hook.f.) Plowes
Apterantheseuropaeasubsp.maroccanavar. albotigrina(Maire) Plowes
Apterantheseuropaeasubsp.maroccanavar.barrueliana(Maire) Plowes
Apterantheseuropaea subsp. maroccanavar.decipiens (Maire) Plowes
Apterantheseuropaeasubsp.maroccanavar.gattefossei(Maire) Plowes
Apterantheseuropaeasubsp.maroccanavar. micrantha (Maire) Plowes
Apterantheseuropaeavar.affinis (de Wild) Plowes
Apterantheseuropaeavar.confusa(Font Quer) Plowes
Apterantheseuropaeavar.judaica (Zohary) Plowes
Apterantheseuropaeavar.marmaricensis(Berger) Plowes
Apterantheseuropaeavar.schmuckiana(Gattefosse & Maire) Plowes
Apteranthes europaeavar.simonis (Berger) Plowes
Apteranthesjoannis (Maire) Plowes
Apteranthes munbyana(Decn.) Meve & Liede (needs to revert to Borealluma)
Apteranthesnegevensis (Zohary) Plowes – now placed by Meve & Heneidak as a synonym under A. europaea var. judaica, but should perhaps be retained at species level to accommodate the various Israeli plants, in lieu of var. judaica for them.
Australluma Plowes (The sole species in this genus was retained under Caralluma by Meve et al in IHSP but it most definitely does not belong there. M&L accepted this genus in 2002 phylogeny paper based on DNA analysis)
Australlumapeschii (Nel) Plowes
Australluma ubomboensis(Verdoorn) Bruyns. The optimum placement of Angolluma ubomboensis requires deeper investigation, but it cannot be accepted in Australluma.
Ballyanthus Bruyns (The sole controversial species in this genus was retained under Orbea by Meve et al in IHSP, and again in M&L, because DNA showed it to be nested in Duvalia, but I recommend acceptance of this genus)
Ballyanthus prognatha(P. R. O. Bally) Bruyns
Baynesia Bruyns
Baynesia lophophoraBruyns
Borealluma Plowes (Meve et al did not adopt this genus in IHSP – they left these species in Caralluma where they most definitely do not belong.)
Boreallumamunbyana (Decn.) Plowes (M&L placed this in Apteranthes but that does not seem suitable)
Boreallumaplicatiloba (Lavranos) Plowes (photos of this species are incorrectly named as C. tuberculata in most literature due to Bruyns having unjustifiably sunk this species into that taxon, in Bradleya 4/1986).
Boreallumastaintonii (Hara) Plowes
Boreallumatuberculata (N. E. Br.) Plowes
Boucerosia Wight & Arnott (The species in this genus were retained under Caralluma by Meve et al in IHSP but they most definitely do not belong there)
Boucerosiacrenulata (Wall.) Wight & Arnot
Boucerosiadiffusa Wight
Boucerosiaindica (Wight & Arnot) Plowes
Boucerosianilagiriana (Kumari & Subba Rao) Plowes
Boucerosiapauciflora Wight
Boucerosiaprocumbens (Gravely & Mayuran.) Plowes
Boucerosiatruncato-coronata Sedgew.
Boucerosiaumbellata (Haw.) Wight & Arnot (B. lasiantha Wight, and B. campanulata Wight, were subsumed under B. umbellata, but may require resuscitating)
Caralluma R. Br. – I will almost certainly be elevating all the Indian varieties to full species rank. This genus had been a dust-bin into which many species were incorrectly placed. This was rectified by the creation of a number of new genera by Leach in his various papers In Excelsa Taxonomic Series, and the balance by me in Haseltonia 3. I was unable to accept the changes that were made by Gilbert in Bradleya 8/1990 in his revision of Caralluma where he placed many species under Pachycymbium.
Carallumaadscendens (Roxb.) R. Br.
Carallumaadscendens var. attenuata (Wight) Graveley & Mayuran.
Carallumaadscendens var. carinata Graveley & Mayuran.
Carallumaadscendens var. fimbriata (Wall.) Graveley & Mayuran.
Carallumaadscendens var. geniculata Graveley & Mayuran. Now C. geniculata (Graveley & Mayuran.) Meve & Liede
Carallumaadscendens var. gracilis Graveley & Mayuran.
Caralluma bhupinderana Sarkaria
Caralluma dalzielii N. E. Br.
Caralluma darfurensis Plowes
(Caralluma flavovirens L. E. Newton - Should be in Spathulopetalum, but I will have to formally publish this).
C. geniculata (Graveley & Mayuran.) Meve & Liede
Caralluma lamellosa M. G. Gilbert & Thulin has been transferred to the new genus Pleuralluma Plowes
Caralluma sarkariae Lavranos & Frandsen
Caralluma stalagmifera Fisher
Caralluma subulata Forssk. ex Decn.
Caralluma sudanicaBruyns, in Aloe 41:4:2004 (this is a superfluous name for C. dalzielii N. E. Br.that I have rejected)
Caudanthera Plowes (Meve et al did not adopt this genus in IHSP – these species were left in Caralluma where they most definitely do not belong. The species in this genus have unique erect tailed anthers – see Caralluma revision in Haseltonia 3)
Caudantheramireillae (Lavranos) Plowes
Caudantherasinaica (Decn.) Plowes
Caudantherasinaica var. baradii (Lavranos & Newton) Plowes (to be elevated to species rank)
Crenulluma Plowes (Meve et al did not adopt this genus in IHSP – these species were left in Caralluma where they most definitely do not belong, nor does this distinctive purely Arabian genus belong in Desmidorchis – see Caralluma revision in Haseltonia 3)
Crenullumaadenensis (Defl.) Plowes
Crenullumaarabica (N. E. Br.) Plowes. Apparently nothing that is completely akin to the type plant from Wadi Raida in the Hadramaut in southern Yemen has since been found: it would seem that all the maroon flowered plants that have since been collected and which are ascribed to this specieas, are incorrectly named.
(Crenullumaaucheriana (Decn.) Plowes – the type collection had no flowers so is indeterminate: this name has to be dropped)
Crenullumaawdeliana (Defl.) Plowes
Crenullumadolichocarpa (Schwartz) Plowes. Possibly conspecific with C. lavrani.
Crenullumaflava (N. E. Br.) Plowes. The illustration by Stella Ross-Craig accurately depicts the type specimen in Kew from Wadi Hadiea in the Hadramaut in southern Yemen, but no similar plants have been collected elsewhere. A number of different forms of plants with yellow flowers occur in Yemen and Oman: some of these may justify taxonomic recognition at subspecies or or even species level.
Crenullumakalmbacheriana (Lavranos) Plowes. Bruyns & Jonkers (Bradleya 11, 1993) incorrectly placed this distinctive species into synonymy under C. adenensis.
Crenullumalavranii (Rauh & Wertel) Plowes. DNA and other tests may yet show that this unusual species should be placed in a new genus.
Crenullumapetraea (Lavranos) Plowes
Crenullumarauhii (Lavranos) Plowes. Bruyns & Jonkers (Bradleya 11, 1993) incorrectly placed this distinctive species into synonymy under C. adenensis.
Cryptolluma Plowes (Meve et al did not adopt this genus in IHSP – this species was left in Caralluma where it most definitely does not belong. It is separated from Spiralluma by the lack of circinnate inner corona lobes that are coiled like a watch spring, and the very different shaped pollinaria – see Haseltonia 3)
Cryptollumaedulis (Edgew.) Plowes
Cylindrilluma Plowes (Meve et al did not adopt this genus in IHSP – this species was left in Caralluma where it most definitely does not belong. Although it shares with Sulcolluma the unique grooved ‘epaulets’ on the stem teeth, it is separated from that genus by the tubular flowers and especially the very unusual gynostegium – see Haseltonia 3)
Cylindrillumasolenophora (Lavranos) Plowes
Desmidorchis Ehrenbrg. (Meve et al did not adopt this genus in IHSP – this species was left in Caralluma where it most definitely does not belong. Some persons consider that it should incorporate the Arabian genus Crenulluma but that genus is easily separated from Desmidorchis by the crenulate stem teeth – see Haseltonia 3)
Desmidorchisedithae (N. E. Br.) Plowes
Desmidorchisfoetida (E. A. Bruce) Plowes
Desmidorchispenicillata (Defl.) Plowes
Desmidorchisretrospiciens Ehrenberg(This is the correct name for plants that had previously been called Caralluma russeliana and D. acutangula)
Desmidorchissomalica (N. E. Br.) Plowes
Desmidorchisspeciosa (N. E. Br.) Plowes
Duvalia Haw. This genus was revised by Meve in 1997 as part of a Doctoral study. Bruyns (in SSAM) often lumped together as a single species, or else placed therein as subspecies, those plants that are somewhat similar in appearance and which were previously regarded as distinct species. Bruyns may well be correct as he had the benefit of seeing very much more material and of visiting many more sites, than was available or possible for Meve. Bruyns has been able to show in SSAM that there has often been a much greater degree of variability within individual populations than was previously known and which suggests that differences between certain similar species are not as clear-cut as was previously thought: these overlaps in features do suggest that some merging may be desirable. However, in view of his penchant to lump together under one name all plants that are somewhat similar, I am hesitant to accept any of Bruyns’s name changes unless I have examined enough material to satisfy myself that these are sound. In those cases in SSAM where Bruyns has lumped species, I have consequently preferred to follow Meve at this stage and have used the former taxonomy that he had retained..
It is worth noting that the northern hemisphere species of Duvalia could perhaps be justifiably placed in a separate genus – they have been cut off for a very long time from plants of the southern group by the Miombo (Brachystegia and Isoberlinia) woodland belt that stretches from East Africa across to the Congo, and which is inhospitable to stapeliads. In particular, the stems of the northern plants are very different from those in southern Africa.
Duvalia angustiloba N. E. Br.
Duvalia caespitosa (Masson) Haw. Meve selected this name in preference to Masson’s other name Stapelia reclinata for this extremely variable species, and in consequence the previously well-known name D. reclinata is now in synonymy.
Duvalia caespitosavar.compacta(Haw.) Meve. Not recognised by Bruyns in SSAM in view of the great variability within and between different populations of D. caespitosa but as it occurs as a recognisable entity over a wide area in the SW Cape winter rainfall area, it is worthy of taxonomic recognition. Its distribution overlaps that of D. caespitosa in places, thus eliminating subspecies rank for it.
Duvalia caespitosassp.pubescens(N. E. Br.) Bruyns. Bruyns created this merger in SSAM, whereas Meve had kept it as a distinct species in IHSP. It inhabits the granites in the northern winter rainfall area, whereas D. caespitosa is mainly on shales in the Great Karoo in the summer or transitional rainfall area, and therefore retaining it at species rank seems to be the more appropriate treatment
Duvalia caespitosassp.vestita (Meve) Bruyns. Placed under D.caespitosa by Bruyns as a subspecies in SSAM in view of its variability and the overlap of the morphology of both of these taxa. It occurs in a different ecological region (winter rainfall with fynbos near the coast in the south-western Cape) whereas D. caespitosa is principally a karoid species and it would therefore appear to be preferable to retain D. vestita at species rank.
Duvalia corderoyi (Hook. f.) N. E. Br.
Duvalia eilensis Lavranos
Duvalia elegans (Masson) Haw.
Duvalia galgallensis Lavranos
Duvalia gracilis Meve. Not accepted by Bruyns in SSAM where it was inexplicably sunk under D. modesta, but it is morphologically much closer to D. caespitosa. However, it was shown by Meve to be a diploid, whereas D. caespitosa is a tetraploid, so it should be retained at species rank.
Duvalia immaculata (A. C. Lückh.) M. B. Bayer ex Leach
Duvalia maculata N. E. Br.
Duvalia modesta N. E. Br.
Duvalia parviflora N. E. Br.
Duvalia pillansii N. E. Br.
Duvalia polita N. E. Br.
Duvalia pubescens N. E. Br. Although this taxon is superficially very similar to the more hirsute forms of D. caespitosa, it occurs on granite sands among Mesembs in a biotope that is quite different to those favoured by that species. Placed by Bruyns in SSAM as a subspecies of D. caespitosa, but Meve’s data (1997) showed that it is distinct.
Duvalia somalensis Lavranos
Duvalia sulcata N. E. Br.
Duvalia sulcata subsp. seminuda (Lavranos) Meve. (The stems of plants from Erkowit in Sudan differ from those on the Arabian side of the Red Sea and will be described as ssp. sudanensis).
Duvalia velutina Lavranos
Duvalia vestitaMeve. Placed by Bruyns as a subspecies of D. caespitosa in SSAM but it has profoundly different ecological requirements and is geographically separated, therefore it merits retention at species rank.
Duvaliandra M. G. Gilbert
Duvaliandra dioscoridis (Lavranos) M. G. Gilbert. A Socotran endemic originally described as a Caralluma.
Echidnopsis Hook. f. (The revision of this genus by Bruyns in Bradleya 6/1988 contained a number of errors. These were rectified in my revision of Echidnopsis in Haseltonia 1, 1993).
Echidnopsisangustiloba E. A. Bruce & Bally
Echidnopsisarcheri Bally
Echidnopsisballyi (Marnier-Lapostolle) Bally
Echidnopsisbavazzani Lavranos
Echidnopsisbentii N.E. Br. ex Hook. f.
Echidnopsisbihendulensis Bally
Echidnopsiscereiformis Hook. f.
Echidnopsischrysantha Lavranos
Echidnopsischrysantha subsp. filipes (Lavranos) Plowes
Echidnopsisciliata Bally
Echidnopsisdammanniana Sprenger
Echidnopsisericiflora Lavranos
Echidnopsis fartaqensis McCoy & Orlando
Echidnopsisflavicorona Plowes